AI and data solutions provider for advice firms, Saturn, has made its first acquisition with the purchase of Ateb Suitability from Thistle Group.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed but Ateb’s team, which specialises in compliance and paraplanning, will join Saturn.

Saturn said the acquisition would enhance its ability to help advisers in delivering suitability reports with greater speed and confidence.

It supports more than 350 advice firms by automating manual tasks across the advice journey, helping more than 1,300 UK advisers, alongside paraplanners, compliance, and support teams.

Ateb assists advice firms with regulatory compliance, providing suitability report templates and writing tools to streamline the advice process, which are automatically updated to meet the latest Financial Conduct Authority requirements.

As part of the deal, Ateb Suitability will become Ateb Insights, with its compliance and paraplanning technical support team joining Saturn.

Ateb also has a client review, suitability, and reporting content library, providing resources for advice firms.

Following the acquisition, Saturn will welcome new clients, including wealth management firms and independent financial adviser networks, and will continue to invest in the service, bringing in additional chartered regulatory, compliance, and paraplanning specialists to expand the Ateb Insights team.

“This acquisition is about combining Ateb’s deep regulatory heritage with the power of Saturn’s AI and automation,” commented Saturn chief executive and co-founder, Amal Jolly.

“Together, we assist firms in improving compliance and generating high-quality client reports more efficiently, ensuring they meet the latest regulatory standards. This will allow advisers to concentrate on what truly matters: their clients.

“But it’s not just about making things easy; they have to be done right. Advisers need to be confident that the information they provide to clients is accurate, straightforward and compliant.

“Ateb brings more than 20 years of regulatory expertise – the team has seen it all from RDR, MiFID right through until Consumer Duty and beyond.

“They are aware of the challenges advice firms face in keeping up with regulatory changes and so constantly look out for what is coming down the line, the emerging trends, the potential threats and opportunities to ensure advisers can get on with delivering quality advice to clients.”

Thistle Group chief executive officer, Sophie Long, added: “Ateb Suitability has long been trusted by advisers for the quality of its support.

“With Saturn’s backing, the team can build on that strength and evolve the service for the next generation of advice firms, whilst enabling Thistle Group to focus on strategic growth initiatives into new sectors and services. We wish the team all the best for the future.”

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